Business Forum articles from January 1993

Business Forum archives from January 1993

America at the starting point. (toward economic revival)
January 1, 1993... The prevailing mood in the United States appears manifest in a desire for change. Nurtured in a crisis of econonomic anomalies and malfunction, the United States appears to be at the crossroads of a far-reaching transformation. History is...

Rightsizing for success. (how to meet financial targets without job layoffs)
January 1, 1993... Downsizing s being embraced industry-wide as an instant cure for flagging profitability. Yet all too often it leads to a "cycle of failure" in which low employee morale erodes service quality and market share. How can a company meet tough final...

U.S. defense industry in transition: can the leopard change its spots?
January 1, 1993... The 1990s are likely to see major transformations in the way that American business operates, but nowhere will the metamorphosis be more fundamental or widespread than in the U.S. defense industrial sector. The overriding factor that...

Global sourcing: broadening your supply horizons. (efficacy of purchasing from worldwide supply sources)
January 1, 1993... Over the last few years, the pressures of globalized business, combined with countless sourcing bargains in previously untapped regions of the world, has driven many companies to expand their purchasing efforts beyond traditional domestic and...

New government merger rules may stimulate growth and acquisition. (1992 Horizontal Merger Guidelines)
January 1, 1993... More corporate takeovers occurred in the first six months of 1992 than in any similar period since 1988. Early indications from the second half of 1992 suggest that new government merger rules may increase this trend by facilitating...

It's time for new thinking for a new age. (alternatives to conventional decision-making)
January 1, 1993... Basic to change is the ability to understand a logic that is different from the traditions that have fueled the organizations of the past. The critical questions facing organizational management in today's world are those that deal with and...

Electronic mail and privacy: can the conflicts be resolved? (includes related article)
January 1, 1993... With 12 million people now using electronic mail systems to convey messages to one another, and millions more expected to embrace the process soon, what pitfalls lie ahead in keeping personal and corporate messages private? Should privacy exist...

Legal environment trends for the '90s.
January 1, 1993... The current legal environment in the United States spins on a variety of complex issues that have an impact on business: international trade, capital gains taxes, unemployment, aging baby boomers, technology, employment laws, and social...

The growing use of benchmarking in managing cultural diversity.
January 1, 1993... American industry is faced with intense global competition, which forces it to rethink traditional strategic approaches. New strategies to improve productivity and enhance quality are needed if companies are to regain a competitive advantage....

Coping with different ethical perceptions in America's increasingly diverse workforce.
January 1, 1993... U.S. firms face a growing challenge in instilling good ethical behavior in the work place. The challenge comes from a workforce of widening cultures with differing ethical perceptions. The often repeated phrase, "Managing diversity is an...

Is there a role for small business in the North American Free Trade Area?
January 1, 1993... With the United States, Mexico and Canada poised to embrace creation of the world's largest and richest trading bloc, there are concerns that small firms will be left on the sidelines. This author argues the "problem" may be perception and not...

A changing world trade market structure and its influence on Eastern Europe.
January 1, 1993... The post-world War II policy of the United States was designed to achieve a political and military weakening of the Soviet Union and its allies as the U.S. assumed the global leadership role. That set of policies achieved the intended result....

Age and cost exacerbate national health care dilemma. (new US health care policy)
January 1, 1993... The changing health care environment in the United States and President Bill Clinton's push for a national health care plan have significant implications for American business. indeed, one of the major challenges for business in the 21st...

Varying nations' accounting standards can make profit evaluations difficult.
January 1, 1993... The global financial marketplace, once thought to be the financial marketplace of the future, is a reality today. its need for a common language in financial statements is increasingly urgent. Debts raised in international capital markets...

Information system development in a global environment.
January 1, 1993... The growing need for the marketing of U.S. goods and services abroad presents a quandry for information systems that link the many components of offshore business with home off ices. With markets open around the clock, there is a need to create...

The growing focus on discipline and accountability in the management of U.S. corporations.
January 1, 1993... Heads are rolling at the highest levels of the American executive suite. The grumbling exit of chief executive officers at General Motors, Westinghouse, international Business Machines, American Express, and others suggest that a watershed...

Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit.
January 1, 1993... When all the bottom-line issues have been summarized, one of the most significant books about business in the 1990s may turn out to be Earth in the Balance by Vice President Al Gore (Houghton Mifflin). Of special merit, not only because it is...

Economic lessons from Campaign 1992. (electioneering of presidential candidates) (Column)
January 1, 1993... Some messages are very clear from the recent U.S. presidential election. The previously very popular incumbent lost the election because of the economy. Infact, the "3.7 percent rule" led us in early spring to predict the outcome. The 3.7...